“Because only a good story well told is worth all this effort.”—Rob Neyer in Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Legends: The Truth, the Lies, and Everything Else
The latest release from Rob Neyer, Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Legends: The Truth, the Lies, and Everything Else
, follows in several of his traditions, but also explores some new ground.
, follows in several of his traditions, but also explores some new ground. This is the third of Rob Neyer's Big Book of…Something, though alas, he opted not to go with my suggestion of “Bubblegum” for the subject of his next work. Perhaps that’s still to come.
What's more important though, is that Rob keeps with his traditions of seemingly endless and in-depth research, sharp, focused writing, and an interesting subject matter.
As its title suggests, this book explores some of the legends of baseball's history that we may have heard through the years. Babe Ruth’s famous “Called Shot” in the 1932 World Series against the Cubs is perhaps the biggest of them, but many are varied legends in this book, and they range from the commonplace to the obscure.
Most of us know about the rivalry between Carlton Fisk and Thurman Munson, and about Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson. Maybe you know about George Steinbrenner foolishly releasing Johnny Callison on a whim, or about Steve Dalkowski scaring the hell out of the Splendid Splinter.
Maybe you’ve even heard about how Paul Waner was actually a better hitter when he was a little drunk, or of the impostor who kept Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak alive when he was laid up.
But what do you really know? The very nature of “legends” is such that there’s almost always a grain or two of truth wrapped up in a fanciful, entertaining, but largely untrue, tale.
Rob Neyer (and a guest or two) helps investigate, and in many cases, de-bunk, some of the more famous legends and tall tales from the history of baseball.
Rob doesn't get into exploring the allegations of gambling
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